Oregon State rundown: Halfway through spring football practice, here's what the beat writer thinks

OSU coach Mike Riley likes what he's seeing this spring, but realizes there are major issues still hanging over his team

With Oregon State athletics

So we're halfway through spring football and this is what I think I know:

- The defense will improve. This team is noticeably quicker at several positions (OLB comes to mind), and coordinator Mark Banker may use more of a quickness/swarming approach up front (reminiscent of Oregon's "Gang Green'' years ago) to compensate for not having a prototypical run stuffer (i.e., Stephen Paea) or a monster pass rusher. ... Rusty Fernando and Taylor Henry are two of the fastest DEs in college football, but of course that does the Beavers no good if they can't get to the QB (if they are easily blocked) and can't stop the run.

Oregonian photoHis re-hab is going well, but no one knows for certain when wide receiver/kick returner James Rodgers can play again

- Hard-hitting OLB Cameron Collins, who has already KO'd WR Kevin Cummings with a punishing hit, could be one of the breakthrough performers in the Pac-12. ... S Lance Mitchell, if he plays to his ability, should be all Pac-10. ... also, there has been heated competition in the secondary. Position coach Keith Heyward is loaded with good athletes here. Can they cover? I think so, but then again that depends partly on the pressure OSU gets up front. ... this may disappoint his "friends'' on the message boards, but CB Brandon Hardin has dropped weight and seems intent on keeping his spot. No plans to move him to S, or OLB. ... we know that Collins and trash-talking sophomore Michael Doctor are set at OLB, but OSU still can't decide between Tony Wilson, Feti Unga, and Rueben Robinson at MLB. ... Banker calls them the "Three Musketeers.'' He does not want to go through another season where MLB is a "pick-em'' position.

- while walk-on Danny Evans has been impressive so far, it may be more meaningful that veteran Darrell Catchings was grabbing everything in sight during Wednesday's short scrimmage. ... If Catchings can have impact, it's huge for the Beavers because quarterback Ryan Katz needs playmakers to throw to. ... Jordan Bishop has "impact WR'' written all over him, but he's out with a broken foot. ... James Rodgers may or may not be ready for the start of the season. ... we don't know yet if trackster Obum Gwacham is ready, but he's showing signs. Somebody has to step up to give opposing defenses something to think about besides Markus Wheaton going deep and Markus Wheaton running the fly sweep.

- redshirt freshman flinger Sean Mannion isn't quite ready to take over at QB if something happens to Katz (who hasn't been 100 percent yet in the spring) so maybe that idea of flirting with the zone read needs to be put on hold because the thought of Katz getting hurt again should be terrifying to OSU fans. ... I know, I know, Mannion is technically No. 3 on the depth chart behind Cody Vaz. But Vaz has not been particularly impressive this spring and it says here the QB pecking order going into the Sept. 3 opener vs. Sac State may be Katz/Mannion/Vaz/Lomax. ... Mannion, right now, reminds of Sean Canfield when Canfield was taking his first tentative steps toward becoming "the man.'' Mannion has made some Canfield-like ooh and aah throws in practice. He throws a nice deep ball.

Oregonian photoSenior Ryan McCants could be OSU's first and second-down back in the Fall, with greyshirt freshman Terron Ward coming on as the third-down back

- who is the next Quizz? Or somebody in the same area code? I wouldn't count out greyshirt freshman Terron Ward, who looks the part at a muscular 5-7, 190. He has quickness, some swerve in his game, good hands, and good blocking ability from what we've seen. ... injured TB Jordan Jenkins could make a run in the Fall, but my guess now is that coaches give senior Ryan McCants the role of first down and second down back (as long as he takes care of the ball), with someone like Ward coming in on third down. ... no telling how good Ward is until we see him in an actual game, but he's earning more respect with each practice. ... and yes, if we were writing the script, it is much more dramatic if true freshman Storm Woods from Pflugerville, Tex. hits campus like a tornado and wins the job after rushing for 235 yards and three touchdowns in the first Fall scrimmage.

- About that offensive line. Will it be dramatically improved in 2011? Hard to tell. I like the approach of position coach Mike Cavanaugh, who is working his big guys overtime and trying to instill some "nasty'' in them, but we don't know yet how effective the pre-spring re-shuffling will be. ... the left side of the O-line looks good with Mike Remmers (LT) and ex-center Josh Andrews (LG). And Grant Johnson looks the part at center. ... but Cav isn't sure about the right side. He's used returning starter Burke Ellis and Michael Lamb at RG, and look at Michael Philipp and Colin Kelly at RT. ... Philipp, after a strong freshman season, has not upped his game. That is a concern. ... Cav says the watchwords for the new season are "Fight Back.'' ... Cav has a national reputation for doing more with less, and he'll need all of his coaching magic to get these players to believe that they can be a dominant Pac-12 O-Line.